Finally got to do the Giant's Workshop up at Mohonk. Wow! We usually climb on our gunks visits but, a day of hiking at the Mountain House property is a day well spent. We did the trails around Skytop last year (Labarynth, Crevice, etc.) but I have to say meandering through the Giant's Workshop was by far the best!

I am doing the second strat-athalon this Saturday and MurphysLaw HIGHLY recommended Giants Workshop to me instead of the Millbrook Ridge trail which I have done more times than I care to admit.

I'll be checkin it out Saturday before 9am

Better than Millbrook Ridge??!! Haven't been there - I'll be watching for your follow-up!
-Chris

Yes- I would also highly recommend it, it's an excellent hike. Different than the Millbrook hike, not the same kind of views, but the rock formations, chasms and scrambling (and checking out those climbs) are really amazing.

well this sounds like a rainy day possibility. anyone know of a good book and/or map with these hikes in them?

The regular Shawangunk Trails map set can be had at Rock and Snow and I think Giants Workshop is marked in there. The forest over there is hemlocks so in a light rain it is very pleasant to hike over there, and a lot of the rock scrambling and caves should stay dry too. Below Project X there is a nice spot to hang out which stays dry as well... and you can crane your neck to look up at a really darn hard free climb.

Reply to Learningtolead,
There is a trailbook sold at the counter of The Mountain Deli.
The book is titled "A Rock With A View"
"Trails of the Shawangunk Moutains"

In it is "Giants Workshop" and a whole bunch of other good hikes!

Ethan

the actual GW hike is short. make sure you go by copes lookout and check out the 5.12 (separate reality of the gunks).. anyone know of the carrigon route out there?

Took a friend hiking through giant's workshop and just about everything else on Wednesday. On the way to giant's I accidentally headed toward zaidees bower (only about 300 yard off course) I'm glad I did! We discovered an awsome crevice akin to the one at the base of skytop. The difference is this one goes Down, not up. And no wooden ladders either! It's about four feet wide and 40 feet high. Goes back about 60 feet. 20 feet or so in the floor has several inches of water so we walked on the walls for about thirty feet till we were at the back of the crevice. There was another small cavern you could enter (we didn't, just shined the light in) at the very rear of the crevice. A climb out at the very back may have been possible, but it looked to be an extremely tight squeeeze and perhaps a little loose.

It was definitely worth taking a wrong turn for

Just want to throw in a recommendation for Rock Rift Crevice north of Mohonk Lake off the Bonticou Road . Hiked Sun from GW to there, and found RRC to be far superior from a rock scrambing/exploration area than GW, especially for kids. Much longer too.